A new video from WildlifeDirect shows the brutal impacts of the neurotoxic pesticide Furadan being used intentionally to kill entire flocks of birds, which are later sold as meat. Ducks, pigeons, and storks are often targeted. The process is brutal. “Based on a survey I did in 2009, 6,000 birds were killed every month. Tens of thousands are killed every year. I’m very concerned and I think man is at risk too–that is...

This video is based on an op-ed by Bill McKibben, author and founder of 350.org, with narration and illustration by Stephen Thomson of Plomomedia.com. To see additional coverage of the connections between climate change and extreme weather: Burning up: warmer world means the rise of megafires (05/12/2011) Megafires are likely both worsened by and contributing to global climate change, according to a new United Nations report. In the...

A German news show (with English subtitles) investigates clearcuts in the Swedish boreal by logging company Stora Enso, which has been certified as sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The FSC has come under heavy fire from a number of small green groups for what they deem as ‘greenwashing’ ecologically destructive practices, however the FSC remains supported by large conservation organizations who argue...

After five years of campaigning, two Girl Scouts fighting palm oil in Girl Scout cookies are receiving wider media coverage this week after meeting with heads of Girl Scouts of the US. The organization has now agreed to research different options, such as sustainably-grown palm oil or using another ingredient, reports the Wall Street Journal. Above, the Girl Scout activists are interviewed on the CBS Early Show. For more information:...

With 6,400 solar cells producing 1.56 megawatts, the Cincinnati Zoo says its new solar parking lot the largest publicly accessible urban solar array in the US. The zoo says that on average the solar array with cover 1/5 of its total energy use and on some days will actually send clean energy back to the grid. “Innovative projects like this solar canopy showcase the benefits of public and private investment working together to provide...

An in-depth look at one figure in the shrimp farming industry, Linda Thorton, who is helping with efforts to create standards for environmentally sustainable shrimp production. Shrimp farming has been a target of environmentalists for links to mangrove destruction and pollution, among other impacts.

It turns out that sharks are worth more alive than dead. According to a new study, a single shark is worth $1.9 million over its lifetime as a tourist attraction in the island nation of Palau. Sold for consumption the shark is worth around $108. In this case a shark is worth a stunning 17,000 times more alive than dead. Sharks worldwide are being decimated, largely for the Asian delicacy shark fin soup. Some populations have fallen by...

A polar bear mother and her cub wake from hibernation to find an oil construction site has been built around them as they slept. Built by the Italian oil company, Eni, the firm says they had no idea the animals were there. Work stopped and a biologist visited the site taking this footage. Once the mother and cub left, work returned on the site. Polar bears are threatened by declining sea ice due to anthropogenic climate change. Recent...

Males gobbling babies. Wiggly tadpoles bulging beneath the skin. Yeah, okay, that’s bizarre, but it’s also the lifestyle of Darwin’s frog (Rhinoderma darwinii), an endangered species that was found by Charles Darwin himself. While the females carry the eggs, the male Dawin frogs carry the young tadpoles in its vocal sac (of all places!) for a fortnight. The footage was filmed and produced by EDGE Fellow Claudio...

Bill McKibben speaking at Powershift. Selection from the speech: “Twenty-two years ago, I wrote the first book about climate change and I’ve gotten to watch it all, and I know that simply persuasion will not do. We need to fight. Now, we need to fight non-violently and with civil disobedience. […] One thing you need to make sure that you manage to get across in your witness is that you are not the radicals in this fight....

A new series of 11 films looks back on the last 50 years of history in the Monteverde cloud forest in Costa Rica, and looks forward to the future. According to Monteverde Now website: “‘Monteverde Now’ gives you access to place where change cannot be ignored-Costa Rica’s Monteverde Cloud Forest. It is a collection of 11 short films about people who live and work in one of our planet’s most diverse and delicate...

Watch the full episode. See more American Masters. Trailer of PBS American Masters’ episode John Muir in the New World. In honor of upcoming Earth Day (April 22nd) and John Muir Day (April 20th) PBS has produced a new episode of American Masters celebrating renowned conservationist, John Muir. The episode airs Monday, April 18 at 9 pm (ET) on PBS in...

Video looks at how to save the Amazon in midst of rising pressure to build massive hydroelectric power in the region. WWF (with aid from Nature Conservancy) looks at what rivers must be preserved from hydroelectric power in order to keep the Amazon ecosystem thriving using ecosystem-wide modeling. For more information on dam projects in the Amazon: Bill Clinton takes on Brazil’s megadams, James Cameron backs tribal groups...

Native to India, the purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. The species is also a focal amphibian for the innovative ZSL EDGE program, which selects the species it works with based on their evolutionary uniqueness and threat level. According to the EDGE website: “The purple frog is the sole representative of an ancient lineage of frogs that has been evolving independently for...